For Kristine

The Blog below was copied and pasted from Random and Odds Blog ( don't be asking me to link you to it. You should know me better than that. Seriously the link is over there on the right. Over a little more now scroll down and she is the last one yea right there)

I have already voted I did that last Friday and it took me all of five min. I have my "I Voted" Sticker on my computer in my office. Though I will not re use the pictures from my last I voted Blog. I encourage you to go play Stuff Portrait Tuesday. Damn that was hard to say. Anyway go vote.


As you probably noticed, I took Stuff Portrait Friday out of the line up. Yeah, I know, BAD KRISTINE!

This upcoming Tuesday is a BIG upcoming Tuesday. It’s a pee-pee tingling Tuesday! It’s a Tuesday that might change our lives forever. In honor of this super special Tuesday, I’m bringing Stuff Portrait Friday back, but on Tuesday. It’s like Saturday Night Live, but on Thursdays.

So what’s the theme? Puh-leaze, like you don’t know!

VOTE!
On Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 — GO VOTE! When you do, take a picture of something that represents this freedom. The pen you used. The road you took to get there. SOMETHING.
If you voted early or by mail in…on November 4th , 2008…go take a picture of something you will no longer take for granted, something that shows us you have a voice and it matters!

I don’t do this very often, but I am doing it today..and everyday until November 4th, 2008 –>If you have to; copy and paste this whole thing into your blog and blog it! Send them here to www.randomandodd.com on November 4th 2008 and tell them to give me a link to their website and I promise to visit EVERY SINGLE BLOG that leaves a comment that says, “I voted, here’s my picture!” and I promise to leave a comment. (I’m asking for it huh?)
It doesn’t matter if their vote doesn’t match mine. That is what makes this country so friggin’ wonderful!

So go on, Spread the word, Stuff Portrait Friday will be here on TUESDAY NOVEMBER THE FOURTH!

If you decide to blog this blog, comment me so I can come by and shout HOO-RAW on your site!

I can’t wait to see all the pictures. I hope we hit 143.

Death by Mexican Hat Dance

The last few weeks our game night group that was a book club and is an occasional dinner club with nothing but catching up has not met.
We were supposed to meet at Libby’s new place last week but for some reason she can’t get settled into her place in four days I mean what is with that?

So when GQ emailed yesterday to say hey Fran I miss game night what’s going on. I jumped in and said I would host tonight. I don’t know if you know this or not but I am the one responsible for getting everyone together for Game Night or what ever the hell it is going to be. I send out the reminder emails I keep track of whose turn it is to host etc. And I fell off task and let it all fall to the wayside. So when GQ emailed this morning to say I didn’t check with Jack and he has school stuff he has to get done I had a mix of emotions.

I was first very disappointed. I enjoy my time with them we laugh and talk. We tease one another and we are real with each other. That might explain why the group has taken on so many transformations. We are just friends who gather to do what ever. The last time we got together we never played one game we just talked. It worked well.

Second I was rather relived. I had not gotten to the store and was going to stop on my way home and put together the stuff for our Mexican Fiesta. I was going to make Chipotle Shrimp Tacos. But I was also making a list a mile long of Mexican dishes to do and had this idea in my head that I would be feeding a small army. I was thinking beef tacos, taquitos, and Enchiladas, refried beans, rice, and taco toppings too. I had assigned folks to bring chips and salsa, guacamole and queso dip. There were going to be FOUR people counting me. Who in the hell did I think I was feeding with an idea like that in my head? I mean really. I know I can personally eat my weight in chips and dips. But lord.

If I am going to cook like that my group needs to grow. I had even looked at making my tortillas by hand. Um when did I plan on doing this? Now I do have coupons for the taquitios and Enchiladas but still I was going over board or kill.

Maybe I’ll just make devils balls for this weekend. Now the question is do I cook salmon or still try and eat my weight in chips and salsa?

Of the things I am to old for

I learned this weekend it is those awesome road trips I used to take when I was young I am to old for. And I define road trips as being unplanned, not completely thought out. Which Jon who started this mess is good for not well thought out road trips. He is spontaneous.
Jon and his wife called me Saturday afternoon maybe around 2:30pm asking what I was doing for the next 24 hours. Once we made it through all the fore play with words. Jon informs me that he has bought a new motorcycle on eBay. Some Honda RC51 1000cc thing a ma bob. But it is Dallas. DALLAS,TX. I knew I could not drive down there and back alone. I asked him to find someone to help me drive and he did. We left out of Nashville at 1:30 AM and hit the road. We were held up an hour and a half around 6am for a wreck. If you don't know the roads in Arkansas suck bricks. At some random stop we did see the Oscar Mayer Winner Mobile. I failed to get a picture because I was driving. Sorry : (
We arrived at the Bike Shop in Dallas at 1PM. Though the bike Jon bought was not in freakin Dallas it was in FREAKIN Ft. Worth. OK not really that big a deal. Because that is why they call the airport the Dallas, Fort Worth airport. But I am giving Jon shit. Because I can and it is my job.
Jon's new bike is cool as hell.


Then we began our trip back home. I was supposed to be sleeping. As we pulled out of town I saw Six Flags



I could not get to sleep. But I did get a picture of Jon showing off on his new toy.



Still I didn't get any real sleep and when my turn came to drive I only got in a few hours of drive time in. My eyes began to cross and water. I was raising my glasses to clear my eyes. It was somewhere around Jackson that I got a new burst of energy and could see straight. I made just outside of Jackson before I was asked to pull over so I did not kill everyone in the car. At 2:30 AM and 1400 miles later we made it home. I got home and hit the hay and could not move all day Monday. I thought for sure I would just sleep late and go into work late and be fine. WRONG. Oh how wrong I was. I could not move. I took a shower with the intent of going out and grabbing some lunch surely if I ate I would feel better. I dressed and had to lay back down I went back to sleep. When I woke up again I tried to head to the door then I decided I should just order food. There is no way I could make it out the door that in and of itself took me 20 minutes. I ordered a pizza and passed out. When the pizza arrived I got a slice and ate half of it and passed out again. When I woke up 3 hours later I turned on the oven to heat my cold pizza ate the rest of my half eaten pizza and well napped again. I never did heat up the cold pizza and I still went to bed at 10 and slept all night. I was still a little hazy this morning.
I am not cut out for long road trips. That there kicked my ass.

The Good News!!!!

As promised I am finally going to tell what I have been holding onto and has been causing me to wain on staying at Domino's. We arrived in the office on Tuesday the Sept. 30 to find a letter from the State telling us we have been approved for to provide Personal Assistant Service (PA). YAY!!! I have been waiting on this since we submitted our application, Hell I can't even remember when it has been so long.

We are still waiting on a few things. A background check on the company's owner. We have to submit a new one for this. Then send in finical statements. But as things stand now we should be providing P.A. services by the first of the year. We might start sooner but my boss is leaving the country the for the Christmas Holiday and that could put us starting after the New Year. So it looks like the last few years of hard is is going to be paying off.

This leaves me now to explain what is holding me back from looking for another second job. Not that I have changed my mind about going out there and putting in an application . I haven't and I will be looking. I will be over all the PA's. So when there are staffing issues I will be the one responsible for dealing with it. Meaning missing work at job two for problems on job one. But, I will also be getting a big fat raise with the new PA Service. UGH life.

But that is the good news.

I sent two boats

You know that old joke " There came a great rain storm and Bob told his family he was going to stay at the house and God would save him.Bob prayed for God to save and protect him. After the water level reached the porch a canoe came but Bob told them , No I am going to stay God will look after me. Bob prayed for God to save and protect him. Later the water level was at the bottom of the second floor window and a motor boat came by. They tried in vain to get Bob in the boat but he told them NO God will save me. Bob prayed for God to save and protect him. When the water had reach the roof a helicopter arrived but Bob waved them off. Bob prayed for God to save and protect him. Bob reached the pearly gates and met God he looked at him and said God how could you I was a good man I prayed and yet you did not save me. God looked at Bob and said My Son I sent 2 boats and a helicopter what more did you want me to do? "

I have begun to think I am taking this approach with finding a different second job. Though today gas has finally dropped down below $3.00 a gallon in Nashville business is still slow and tips are off. I have made-up a million reason to stay most of them involve me not taking my job that seriously and I can call in and not get fired. The job is a cake walk. Three stores in the area have closed, they are all for sale , distributors are not delivering because they are not getting paid and some pay checks are bouncing. Where I come from this is not a good sign. The owner is selling because he did not meet franchise mandates. I joked to the manager that between the four days I go without working I am never sure if when I pull in on Thursday the store will still be open.
I am going to make it my mission in the next week to apply to at least three places. I am thinking Target, Best Buys, and Restoration Hardware. They will need holiday help. After the holidays well that is on my blog list and I promise to tell you the good news I have been sitting on this weekend. At some point , maybe , if I don't think of something else.
I am also going to call you and ask to use you as a reference so sit by your phone damn it and wait.

Do you know my Secret

Last Friday I took a somewhat rare night off Domino's for a double date. With two of favorite people GQ and Jack. As my friends and readers know I am a HUGE PostSecert fan. I love Frank. Not many people/ groups warrant a second visit from me but Frank and his secrets do.

Frank was at Vanderbilt for a Facebook event last Friday night and I called up my Mom and she got the three of us tickets.
We had a totally great dinner at BrickTops it was a little pricey but it was good. If there is one near you I say give it a try. In fact our waiter looked like Frank. I had a Chilean Sea Bass that was out of this world. The food was good and it was HOT!! As in I had to let it cool off so I could eat it. I think it is always a plus when you eat out and you have to wait for the food to cool. Means it has not sat in the window waiting to come to the table. I also had a pineapple martini not as sweet as I thought it would have been but not a bad little drink it is not sweet like a pina colada.

Post Secret started as small community art project in Washington, D.C. Where people mail in their secrets anonymously The rules are as follows: It must be something you have never told anyone and it must be true. Frank says there are two kinds of secrets those we keep from others and those we keep from ourselves.


I wont say that I am an open book but the people that I trust those that know me know what I have done that shames me. Know my dark fears. Know the things about me that I don't put here in the open.
It is the secrets from myself that get in my way. Since Friday I have been thinking what am I keeping from myself? What am I to afraid to admit? When I figure it out I'll let you know.
What Secret are you keeping?

Saving Receipts

In this quest of mine to save money I decided that this week I am going to start saving receipts I have not been doing so hot thus far. This morning I could not get a receipt for my gas from the pump and I was way too lazy to go in and ask for one. But who really wants to remember what they are paying for gas?
I also went through the drive thru at Chick-Fil-A and did not get a receipt I forgot to ask. I was thinking that if I could SEE the money I was wasting at the drive thru I might spend less. I don’t know what happened to me. When I lived in Chattanooga I made an effort to pack my lunch because I wanted to save money what happened to that woman? I never ate out and now I live in the drive thru. I had a plan and some how I lost that. We are all in a though economic time and I can’t get my shit together

So I am going to start saving my receipts to see what I am wasting each week. That is this weeks Nickel and Dime tip save your receipts. See what you waste.

I Have a List ….

I stated that I was going to start making list of blog topics. I have a running list of things that pop in my head to tell ya’ll. Right now there are ten. Count them 10. This post is not among them so I should be able to keep you busy for about 2 weeks more if I write like I usually do. There are all kinds of events coming up which make my list grow so I could in all reality keep you busy through the first part of 2009. Don’t let the shock kill you. There are much better things to die of shock over.

Speaking of shock nah I got nothing. I can’t decide if as I get older I shock easier or it is more like that whole Clay Aiken is gay shock. Where you roll your eyes and try not to choke on the sarcasm. I myself am not at all familiar with sarcasm never used use it. Some over educated dill weed of a therapist once told me I was using sarcasm to mask pain and emotion. I looked at him and said, “ya think?” But, I know that comes as a shock to you.

Though I think shock can arrive in many forms there is the

“JESUS CHRIST!!” shock, where the eyes bug out the mouth drops open and you just stand there in total stunned disbelief.

“HOLY SHIT!!” shock where you fall into a chair cover your mouth with your hand and shake your head back and forth and say “Shit/ Damn” over and over again.

“OH MY GOD!” shock where you are elated a huge grim arrives on your face you might jump up and down with delight.

Choke, Gag, Clang Shock This starts when someone makes an announcement in the middle of dinner that comes out of the blue but is typically followed by one of the above once everyone is done choking, gagging and dropping their fork. Like when your 16-year-old sister says in the middle of dinner “I’m pregnant, pass the corn.”

I think my last SHOCK was the great birthday gift I got from Stephlys I was like WOW!! The whole trip was a wow.

Other times I think the shock comes when I have devalued myself worth and I am asked to join in an event and I think “ME?” that is the shock I want to let go of the one where I am totally surprised that people value me.

Well this was a turn I was not expecting. Talk about shock.

What was that again ?

I have this horrible habit of coming up with what I think are great subject ideas to blog about. I am working at the office or riding down the road and I will get this great idea I will start to kind of process it and think about what I want to tell you worshipers. You know I will get an outline going in my head. I get all excited about it and then it is gone.

It is not like I am just losing Political ideas I am losing that Friday Night was great idea and how it was great. I will have several ideas going and none of them come make it here. Right now in my head I have like 4 going by in the morning they will all be gone.

I have come up with what I think is going to be a more favorable solution to keeping up with my ideas which may help me blog more often. I am going to jot my ideas down as they come to me. I keep a small notebook at my desk and in my car I am just going to have it put it to use . But knowing the way my brain has been working lately I will lose the paper.

Quote for the day

( borrowed)

"As this debacle continues, and CEOs walk away with boatloadsof cash, and the government is now considering owning banks, i am reminded of an old saying (source unknown)

If you put a government agency in charge of the Sahara Desert---it would soon run out of sand!"

Home Town Debate

I am watching the debate from my home town of Nashville, TN. I can't decide if I wish I was down there now or here at home where I am.

Nickel and Dime

Several years ago I saw this woman on the Today Show and she shopped for her family of 5 and would spend less than $20 a week. Give or take. One day last week I saw another story about a woman who feeds her family of four for about that each week. So I figured I could do this maybe not as well for many many reason. If you are going to only spend $10 to $20 week on groceries you can’t be as picky as I am. They say you need at least 2 hours a week to keep it organized

I.e. you have to be willing to buy the kind of soap that you have a coupon for. This is going to put a damper on my getting by with $20 a week.

This week after clipping my coupons from this weeks and last weeks paper I went through the sale papers looked at the sales. I went to Publix which has a penny mystery item every Sunday and Monday if you spend $10 or more I saved almost $12 and spent $81.00 but shrimp was on sale.

It is going to take a lot of work and a lot of planning but you my loyal reader will be kept up to date on how it goes.

Here are a few tips:

Here in Nashville Kroger gives you .04 cents off your total for each reusable bag you use for your groceries.

Publix has a penny item Sunday and Monday